{"id":10303,"date":"2017-03-04T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T11:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/03\/04\/in-competitive-sports-puerto-ricans-gain-a-sense-of-independence\/"},"modified":"2017-03-04T11:50:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-04T11:50:00","slug":"in-competitive-sports-puerto-ricans-gain-a-sense-of-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/in-competitive-sports-puerto-ricans-gain-a-sense-of-independence\/","title":{"rendered":"In Competitive Sports, Puerto Ricans Gain A Sense Of Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Greg Allen<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Paola Santiago is preparing to try out for the national swim team of Puerto Rico. She says she wants to make her island proud, just like tennis player Monica Puig did at the Rio Olympics.<\/p>\n

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Greg Allen\/NPR<\/p>\n

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Greg Allen\/NPR<\/p>\n

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This week, Puerto Ricans marked a century since they were granted U.S. citizenship by Congress, though it’s a limited form of citizenship. Puerto Ricans on the island can’t vote for the U.S. president in the general election and they lack representation in Congress. There is, however, one avenue where Puerto Ricans enjoy status as an “independent entity” \u2014 that’s at the Olympics, where Puerto Ricans compete under their own flag.<\/p>\n

Puerto Rico is a member of the International Olympic Committee. The island has an expansive Olympic Village in Salinas \u2014 about an hour south of San Juan \u2014 where young athletes train.<\/p>\n

On this sunny and breezy afternoon, swimmers jump into the Olympic-size swimming pool to warm up for a two and a half hour training session.<\/p>\n

This sports facility has a boarding school for grades seven through 12. Young people from around the island try out for athletic scholarships that could lead to a spot on Puerto Rico’s Olympic team, but there are no guarantees.<\/p>\n